Newcastle United boss faces tough choices

Magpies manager Alan Pardew admits he faces a selection headache in order to come out victorious over the critical week the team have ahead of them with fixtures in the Europa League and Premier League.

The Newcastle United boss wants to make sure he picks the right players to first beat Ukrainian outfit Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday in the continental competition, and then Southampton on Sunday in the English top flight.

“We have to sit down and make sure we get team selection right,” Pardew told The Sun.

The European clash is last chance saloon for Newcastle after the 0-0 at St James’ Park, although the English manager concedes the same importance to the game against Southampton, as they could be rivals for the relegation.

“Southampton is a huge game and so is the second leg of this tie,” he added.

For the former West Ham boss, the main concern lies on the lack of rest that players featuring in both games might have with Pardew admitting that at times “there’s a tail-off of energy from Thursday to Sunday”.

Newcastle and Southampton go into the clash with the same amount of points (27) after 26 fixtures, and a negative result could place the losing team on the edge of the relegation zone.